Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.